Support

Special developer edition firmware

Please note that these Special Developer Edition (SDE) firmwares provided in this section consists of a proof-of-concept software intended for experienced software developers only.
It is not to be considered a commercial grade release.

The goal of these releases is to open up :
- the ARCHOS Generation 10 tablet,
- the ARCHOS Generation 9 tablets,
- the ARCHOS Generation 8 internet tablets,
- the ARCHOS 5 Generation 7 internet tablet,
- the ARCHOS 5 and ARCHOS 7 Generation 6 Internet Media Tablets
and provide a starting point for people interested in building native applications on a standard Linux base.

For ARCHOS Generation 9 and 10 devices only:

Important notices to be acknowledged before downloading and installing the SDE firmware:

Once the SDE firmware is installed on a device, this device will be watermarked and ARCHOS will be able to detect that this firmware has been installed once.

After SDE firmware installation, you will not be able to play DRM protected content anymore.

Installing the SDE firmware is considered by ARCHOS as a voiding of the warranty and ARCHOS declines all liability and responsibility for any issues resulting from the installation of this SDE firmware.

ARCHOS strongly advises that only experts in embedded software development should install this firmware.

This firmware is provided "as is" and is not supported by ARCHOS.

The firmware must be installed on a unit with a firmware version above 4.0.1 (Ice Cream Sandwich). Once the SDE firmware is installed, powering on the device while pressing the 'volume down' button will now trigger a "Boot Menu". This menu allows to select which operating system is to be launched (Android, the newly installed Developer Edition or the Recovery System). If the device is powered on while pressing jointly the 'volume down' and the 'volume up' buttons, the Developer Edition will be launched. If the device is powered on without any other button pressed, Android will be launched.

Installing a new ARCHOS (Android) firmware WILL NOT remove the SDE firmware. In order to uninstall the SDE, boot into the recovery using the Boot Menu, select "Developer Edition Menu", then "Uninstall Developer Edition".

For ARCHOS Generation 8 devices only:

Important notices to be acknowledged before downloading and installing the SDE firmware:

Once the SDE firmware is installed on a device, this device will be watermarked and ARCHOS will be able to detect that this firmware has been installed once.

Installing the SDE firmware is considered by ARCHOS as a voiding of the warranty and ARCHOS declines all liability and responsibility for any issues resulting from the installation of this SDE firmware.

ARCHOS strongly advises that only experts in embedded software development should install this firmware.

This firmware is provided "as is" and is not supported by ARCHOS.

The SDE firmware MUST be installed using the recovery menu. The recovery is triggered by powering on the device while pressing the 'volume down' button (or 3 consecutive short press on the power button for the A28). In order to install the new firmware, the "Update firmware" option needs to be selected by navigating up and down the items with the 'volume up' and 'volume down' buttons and then executing the selection with a short press on the power button. Once in this mode, the device can be connected to a PC and will act as a mass storage device where the .aos firmware file can be uploaded. Once this step is done, press on the power button again to launch the installation process.

Once the SDE firmware is installed, powering on the device while pressing the 'volume down' button will now trigger a "Boot Menu". This menu allows to select which Operating System is to be launched (Android, the newly installed Developer Edition or the Recovery System). If the device is powered on while pressing jointly the 'volume down' and the 'volume up' buttons, the Developer Edition will be launched. If the device is powered on without any other button pressed, Android will be launched.

Installing a new legacy (Android) ARCHOS firmware WILL NOT remove the SDE firmware. In order to uninstall the SDE, boot into the recovery using the Boot Menu, select "Developer Edition Menu", then "Uninstall Developer Edition".

Important notices to be acknowledged before downloading and installing the SDE firmware:

Be aware that after installation, your device will loose the capability of playing DRM (digital rights management) protected content (e.g. videos that are present on the Archos Media Club).

It is possible to restore the ARCHOS back to a traditional firmware, but it will not be able to play DRM protected content anymore. This functionality will be lost forever when applying the SDE firmware.

Once the SDE firmware is installed on a device, this device will be watermarked and ARCHOS will be able to detect that this firmware has been installed once.

Installing the SDE firmware is considered by ARCHOS as a voiding of the warranty and ARCHOS declines all liability and responsibility for any issues resulting from the installation of this SDE firmware.

ARCHOS strongly advises that only experts in embedded software development should install this firmware.

This firmware is provided "as is" and is not supported by ARCHOS.

The process for restoring the legacy ARCHOS firmware is done by accessing the recovery menu.
The recovery is triggered by powering on the device while pressing the 'volume down' button.
In order to install the new firmware, the "repair disk" option needs to be selected by navigating up
and down the items with the 'volume up' and 'volume down' buttons and then executing the selection with
a short press on the power button. Once in this mode, the device can be connected to a PC and will act as a mass
storage device where the legacy .aos firmware file can be uploaded. Once this step is done, press on the power
button again to launch the installation process.